1955 Ford F100 Project

Owner: Dom Lizza

Built from the ground up, this F100 work-in-progress is a fusion of hi-tech show pony, mid-fifties rockabilly cool and grunt-packed workhorse. The combination starts to make sense when you understand that its owner, Dom Lizza, has a passion for gadgetry, an Italian eye for style and is the son of a long-time vintage car builder/restorer.

After years of admiring hot rods, in 2006 Dom took up the challenge to build one of his own. He started with just the chassis, a hybrid Dodge with an HQ grafted front end which he sent off to have sandblasted and painted. From there, he put in a 9 inch Ford LSD using a 3.55 ratio.

The running gear is a 350 Chev with Brownfield alloy heads using a 284 Comp cam and 1.5 roller rockers. On top of that is an Edelbrock high rise dual plane inlet manifold with one inch Super Sucker carb spacers, all cooled by an alloy radiator. Pacemaker extractors run to a 2.5 inch exhaust system.

In readiness for future action on the track, this F100 has disc brakes all round, upsized to 300 mm at the front for extra braking power. Because it's built on a Dodge chassis, the main brake pedal was originally under the floor going to the master cylinder, so holes had to be drilled in order to accommodate the brake pedal arm when remounting to the firewall. The brake lines were done outside to ensure safety compliance.

The gear box is a Turbo 400 with a Stage Two shift kit and 2800 torque converter.

The body is all steel except the bonnet, which was moulded from fibreglass in order to maintain the smooth overall finish. Dom opted for a front tilt bonnet in keeping with the vehicle's show look. For the same reason, the inner guards are custom made for a flat finish all the way through. And although F100s normally have a front bumper bar, Dom prefers the sleek look afforded by a flat front roll pan.

Modified to accommodate bucket seats, the cab has an original WB Statesman console, now using a 1968 Camaro shifter. There's an electric window switch and the cab is fully lined with Dynamat to reduce road noise and help control the temperature. In between the dash and the console is a built in DVD player (enhanced by additional built in monitors mounted on the sunvisors) with GPS, TV and Bluetooth capabilities. The dash has been modified to give it a sleek, clean look, removing the glove box and original instruments, replacing the latter with an all digital gauge cluster. Storage is in the console, which conceals an MP3 connection. The sound system consists of a pair of amplifiers (one a subwoofer amp) behind the seats and a subwoofer in between the seats.

Beauty is readily discernible in the sleek bones of this custom built machine. Four years into the project, it's on the home straight and Dom anticipates finishing it in about a year, "I've just got to have the main outside cab and front guards professionally sprayed and get the upholstery done." Apart from initial work on the chassis, the work so far is all Dom's own, from painting and welding to repairs.

The final paint colour will be GMH Delft Blue pearl, which gives a metallic purplish look. Dom spotted the colour on an HZ ute and had it matched at Holden from the vehicle's rego number.

As for the future, Dom is considering putting "a blown 350 Chev on it, but at the moment it's tame just to get on the streets." He's planning to do some Hot Rod runs and time tests. The vehicle drives like an HQ one tonner - good for straight lines! When asked if he'd do it again, the response was immediate: "There's a 55 sedan Chev I'd like to buy..."

Kms/mileage:0
Body: pick up
Engine Size: 5.7 350 chev thou over
Transmission: turbo 400
Drive: right hand
Condition: as new
Fuel System: electric fuel pump
Fuel Type: petrol
Exterior Colour: will be delft blue
Interior Colour: will be beige and dark blue

Source: JUST CARS, October 2010, Collectors Issue #176